I Feel So Unnecessary

The Root of All Evil by Ellery Adams My rating: 3 of 5 stars The Root of All Evil Hope Street Church Mysteries #4 Publisher: Beyond the Page, 2014 Cooper Lee has never been happier. She has terrific friends at Bible study, a great boyfriend in Nathan, and best of all, a new niece or nephew on the way. But storm clouds are gathering when a string of church robberies comes to Hope Street and an art teacher is found dead in what appears to be a robbery gone wrong. With Halloween approaching, Cooper’s beginning to think there are far more tricks than treats coming her way. No sooner do she and her friends step in to help the police unearth a killer than they discover a con artist among their flock. Lost in a morass of confusing clues—and even more confusing signals from Nathan—Cooper’s not sure which way to turn. With the stakes so high, she sends up a prayer for some divine guidance, because Cooper knows that sometimes it takes the help of a higher power to bring down th...

Sleeping Beauty and the Beast By: Melissa Lemon Genre: Fantasy/Romance 300 pages  Published by: CreateSpace, June 2014 I received a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review. Princess Eglantine has been asleep for years, cursed by a witch. The only experiences she has are the ones in her dreams. There she meets Prince Henry of Fallund, a neighboring country. Meanwhile Henry's brother Prince Duncan became intrigued by a beastly woman in prison for murder. He looks to free her from both the prisons she's in- the cage she's in and the one surrounding her heart. A fun fantasy novel. I like the mashup when they're well written- and this one was. I did find the story of the Beast more compelling than Beauty's but still enjoyed the chapters concerning her. The book kept my attention and the author did a good job blending the stories together.So it's getting... Melissa Lemon is the author of two other fairy tale retellings:  Cinder and Ella ...

Within My Grasp: A Double Amputee's True Story By: Mike Penketh, with Marti Smiley Childs and Jeff March Genre: Autobiography/ Personal Growth 224 pages Publisher: EditPros LLC  Publication Date: April 2013 Buy it: Amazon B&N * I received a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: What would you do if you found yourself awakening from a deep slumber to discover that your hands were missing? How would you eat, or drink? How would you brush your teeth? How would you change your clothes? How would you turn a door knob? How would you answer the phone? How would you sign a check, or a form? The frustrations are endless, but survival is a human instinct, so you would have to figure out how to perform essential functions, or have someone do them for you. The innate instinct for survival can get you by, but the human spirit and a strong sense of determination can help you overcome obstacles at a much faster pace. American Airlines...

Round the Bend: From Luton to Peru to Ningaloo, A Life After Redundacy By: Alistair McGuinness 256 pages Genre: Travel Memoir Publisher: Matador Publication Date: November 26, 2013 Buy it here: Amazon * I received a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: Three things happened simultaneously. The lioness charged, Alistair fled across the parched savannah and his wife screamed for him to run faster. Stuffed deep inside his tattered rucksack was a guidebook containing advice on what to do in wildlife emergencies, which he planned to read if he survived the next thirty seconds. Future plans to climb Kilimanjaro, teach English in the Amazon and live in Australia were temporarily forgotten as he turned to face the pouncing lioness, thinking back to the words of advice from his mother-in-law. "Don't do anything silly, and look after Francine." From deep underground in a remote Bolivian mine to the scorched Australian outback,...

The Sound of Broken Glass (Duncan Kincaid and  Gemma James #15) 359 pages Genre: Mystery Publisher: William Morrow Paperback publication date: February 25, 2014 Buy the book at: Amazon B&N Books-a- Million * I received a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: In the past . . . On a blisteringly hot August afternoon in Crystal Palace, once home to the tragically destroyed Great Exhibition, a solitary thirteen-year-old boy meets his next door neighbor, a recently widowed young teacher hoping to make a new start in the tight-knit South London community. Drawn together by loneliness, the unlikely pair form a deep connection that ends in a shattering act of betrayal. In the present . . . On a cold January morning in London, Detective Inspector Gemma James is back on the job now that her husband, Detective Superintendent Duncan Kincaid, is at home to care for their three-year-old foster daughter. Assigned to l...

Where the Wildflowers Grow By; Vera Jane Cook Genre: Southern Fiction Publisher: Musa Publishing Publication Date: March 2013 Get it at:  Amazon B&N Synopsis: Sexual confusion and dysfunction cause the unraveling of the perfect American family in small town Georgia in 1960. Rose Cassidy's fantasy life is a haunting reminder that she's living a lie. So when she has the opportunity to act on those fantasies, she dives in without any thought to consequences. Rose's husband, Ryan, has fantasies of his own, and his actions cause unimaginable hurt to the very children he tries so hard to protect. When the happiness each member of the Cassidy family seeks so desperately to find is shattered by shame, guilt, and ultimately murder, they must each face the truth that lies deep within their souls. My Thoughts:   I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review. A riveting family saga- it has murder, drama, infidelity... It kept me e...

Getting Rooted in New Zealand By: Jamie Baywood 224 pages Publisher: CreateSpace Publication Date: April 2013 Genre: Travel Memoir Get it here: Amazon B&N * I received a copy from the author in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: Craving change and lacking logic, at 26, Jamie, a cute and quirky Californian, impulsively moves to New Zealand to avoid dating after reading that the country's population has 100,000 fewer men. In her journal, she captures a hysterically honest look at herself, her past and her new wonderfully weird world filled with curious characters and slapstick situations in unbelievably bizarre jobs. It takes a zany jaunt to the end of the Earth and a serendipitous meeting with a fellow traveler before Jamie learns what it really means to get rooted. My Thoughts: I found the author to have an interesting, quirky voice. The story was amusing and I liked how she described all the "different" people she met.She ...

The Dead in Their Vaulted Arches ( Flavia de Luce # 6) By: Alan Bradley Genre: Mystery 336 pages Publisher: Random House Publication Date: January 14, 2014 Buy the book here: Amazon  B&N Synopsis: On a spring morning in 1951, eleven-year-old chemist and aspiring detective Flavia de Luce gathers with her family at the railway station, awaiting the return of her long-lost mother, Harriet. Yet upon the train’s arrival in the English village of Bishop’s Lacey, Flavia is approached by a tall stranger who whispers a cryptic message into her ear. Moments later, he is dead, mysteriously pushed under the train by someone in the crowd. Who was this man, what did his words mean, and why were they intended for Flavia? Back home at Buckshaw, the de Luces’ crumbling estate, Flavia puts her sleuthing skills to the test. Following a trail of clues sparked by the discovery of a reel of film stashed away in the attic, she unravels the deepest secrets of the de Luce c...

The Devil's Blues By: Ricky Bush Genre: Thriller 202 pages Publisher: Barking Rain Press  Publication Date: February 2013 Purchase it here: Amazon B&N * I was provided a free copy from the author in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: When the best blues harp customizer in Texas rushes up the steps of the First Christian Church, he finds the doors have been chained shut. A massive explosion sends him to a Houston hospital where he is charged with the murder of the entire congregation--including his wife and daughter. Enter Mitty Andersen, ex-investigative reporter turned blues musician, who was talking to him about a new harmonica order just before the church blew up. Sensing that an innocent man is being railroaded by an overzealous lawman, Mitty once again teams up with his "partner in chime," Pete Bolden, to find out who's really behind a string of church bombings. In their quest for justice, the duo form an uneasy alliance with...

Dead Peasants ( Zoo Crew #2) By: Dustin Stevens 392 pages Genre:  Suspense Publisher: CreateSpace Publication Date: February 2013 Purchase it here: Amazon Synopsis: Bargain Mart, long a fixture in the Missoula economic structure, has fallen on hard times. Things are dire, and if a financial windfall doesn’t arrive soon, their doors will close. Across town, a woman grieves her recently deceased husband. Sitting alone at her kitchen table trying to put her life back in order, a call arrives asking where his quarter million dollar life insurance policy should be sent. A quarter million dollar life insurance policy she never knew existed. Answering the phone on the other end of her call for help is Drake Bell, third year law student at the University of Montana. Joined by his partner Ava, and his loyal friends the Zoo Crew, Drake must attempt to make sense of the case Alice presents him. A case that only grows more complex as people continue ...

The Memory Plot By: D.W.Carver Genre: Mystery 268 pages Publisher: Musa Publication Date: June 2013 Get it at: Amazon B&N Musa Publishing * I received a free copy from the author in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis:   Two years after the car crash that killed her family, mental health counselor Jill Garvin’s memories of the events surrounding the tragedy are beginning to resurface. And with them, a painful and ugly secret that will shatter the way Jill views her late husband. The threat of reality may be more than Jill’s fragile mind can handle. But handle it she must, because a much darker force is at work: a man who would do anything to keep her past a secret, including destroy the new family Jill has found for herself. My Thoughts: I found the book to be a suspenseful, exciting read with interesting characters and snappy dialogue.However, I could have done without some of the graphic depictions and done more with Jill's back story...